The landline switch-off and your parent's personal alarm

By Bojan Gasparovic, who makes AmiFam · October 28, 2026

What changes at home

After the switch, calls go over the broadband connection. For many homes, the change is to plug the phone into the broadband router instead of the wall socket. Some homes need an engineer visit to check that the devices work. A home without broadband may get a basic landline in the meantime, until a digital option is available or until 2030, whichever comes first (GOV.UK).

Will the alarm still work?

It depends on the alarm. Older alarms were made for the copper line. Many digital alarms have a built-in SIM, which uses the mobile network (Telecare National Action Plan).

The government's plan says that no telecare user is to be moved to a digital line until the phone provider, the customer or the alarm provider confirms that the alarm works (outcome 1). The big phone providers also signed a charter to protect vulnerable customers during the switch. But a provider can protect your parent only when it knows about the alarm, so tell it.

How to check the alarm, step by step

1. Find the alarm provider. Its name is usually on the alarm's base unit or on the bill for the alarm.
2. Call the alarm provider. Ask if the alarm works on a digital line. Before you buy a new alarm, ask the same question (GOV.UK).
3. Call the phone provider on your parent's bill, such as BT, Sky, Virgin Media O2, Vodafone or KCOM. Tell them that there is an alarm on the line (GOV.UK).
4. Ask for help with the switch. Providers offer free engineer visits and battery back-ups for telecare devices where needed (GOV.UK).
5. Test the alarm after the switch. Press the button once, and check that the response centre answers.

Power cuts

The old copper line worked in a power cut. A digital line needs the router, and the router needs power. An alarm that is connected through a router with no battery back-up does not work in a power cut (Telecare National Action Plan).

• Older analogue alarms usually run for 12 to 24 hours on their own battery (Telecare National Action Plan), but on a digital line the router can stop first.
• Providers must offer a free back-up to customers who rely on their landline. The law does not oblige them to keep telecare devices working without a break (Telecare National Action Plan).
• Ask the phone provider how long its battery back-up lasts. Ask the alarm provider what the alarm does when the router is off.

A personal alarm without a landline

An alarm with its own SIM needs no landline. It needs good mobile signal at home. Ask if it uses 4G: 2G networks close from 2029 (GOV.UK), and all 2G and 3G devices need to move to at least 4G by the end of 2033 (Telecare National Action Plan).

Where AmiFam fits

AmiFam is not an alarm, and it does not replace one. It calls no one, and it has no response centre. Keep the personal alarm for emergencies.

AmiFam covers the days without an emergency. It is an app for Android phones that tells the family that their parent's day is normal. You and your parent both install it, and your parent chooses what to share with you:

• The first unlock in the morning, so you see that they started the day
• When the charger is plugged in or unplugged
• When the battery is low
• When the phone turns off or on
• A manual check-in with one tap, if they want to say hello

You can get a notification when their phone is not used for 3, 6, 12 or 24 hours during their day. AmiFam works over mobile data or Wi-Fi, so the landline switch does not change it. It never shares their location, messages, calls, contacts, photos or the apps they use.

Manual check-ins are free. Signals are free for 7 days, then from €4.99 a month for two people.